Kernel processors are used in agriculture with crops that are to be used for fodder for animals, in order to open up the kernels so that they can be digested better.
Known kernel processing assemblies such as that described in EP 1 600 049 A are composed of two rolls, each of which is fastened to a frame. The two frames are connected on an (upper) side to each other by a pivot pin in the slot remaining between the rolls, they are connected to each other free to rotate about an axis, that extends parallel to the rolls and to their axes of rotation. On the second (lower) side of the slot a wedge can be inserted between the frame elements, in order to adjust the slot based upon the loss of the harvested crop throughput. The wedge is moved by means of a pivot arm that can be pivoted by a hydraulic cylinder. Moreover, the frames of the second side of the slot are pre-loaded against each other by a spring.
With this type of arrangement it is seen as a disadvantage that the means provided for the adjustment of the slot requires a relatively large amount of space.
DE 88 17 251 U describes a mill for cereal crops with several pairs of grinding rolls, of which one roll is fastened, free to pivot, to a first eccentric pin and can be moved by a cylinder between an engaged operating position and a disengaged non-operating position. The other roll can be readjusted for fine control by means of a spindle. The rolls form a slot that increases with greater throughput and are not fastened to frame elements that can be pivoted against each other by the force of a spring. Similarly, the kernel mill according to DE 102 35 241 A has a compression roll that is supported in bearings so as to pivot on an eccentric shaft and that can be readjusted for the change of the width of a compression slot by means of an operating lever.